A New Beginning
by k3010
Summary: Katniss has nothing to live for. She and her best friend Finnick are moving away to go to University to start a new life away from all the drama and bad memories of the Seam. What will happen the a certain blonde haired, blue eyed boy meets Katniss and tries to make everything better? Will the let him in? (Sorry I totally suck at summaries, but trust me, it's worth the read :))
1. Chapter 1

**AN/ This story is rated M for adult themes, cursing and sexual scenes later on in the story, I** ** _strongly_** **suggest that you only read this if you are of the age to do so.**

So, today's the day. Today's the day I'm leaving everything in this little shitty flat and this shitty town the Seam, and moving away, half way across the country, to be with my best friend Finn so that we can go to Uni together.

A few years ago I lost everything that I lived for. My mum, my dad, and worst of all, my little sister Prim. My dad was taking my sister and her best friend Rue into school one day and they got hit. T boned on the side of the car. It was a hit and run. All of them were pronounced dead at the scene. I'd never got on with my mum particularly well, we always argued. So when it happened… well, I didn't know what to do with myself.

My dad was my rock; my little sister was my best friend. I locked myself in my room for around a month, only coming out when I felt like I was going to pass out from not eating anything. One night when I came out, I decided enough was enough. Dad wouldn't want me to be moping around not going to school and ruining my future, neither would Prim. I went out of my room and yelled for my mum, there was no answer. I started to panic. Mum had never been one to show her emotions. She never let anyone in, unless you where my dad.

I ran all around the house looking for her. Then I saw the note on the kitchen table:

 _Katniss, dear,_

 _I know you haven't been well, neither have I. I want to tell you that I love you, one last time. I love you, Kat. Don't ever think that I'm doing this because of you, I want to see your father again, I want to see Prim again. I miss them. I hurt because I don't see them. I want the pain to stop. I want to see them again. And I don't want to hold you back from doing the things that you want to do in life. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you .I'm sorry I couldn't hold you and tell you everything will be okay, like a mother should. I'm sorry we argued. I love you. Goodbye baby girl._

 _I love you._

Tear stains splattered all over the paper, some old, some fresh.

There. Outside. I was looking out the window into the back garden and there she was, standing on the stool, just putting the rope around her neck. I yelled, and sprinted into the garden as fast as I could. If I could get there in time I could stop her, I could make her stop hurting so much. But I was too late. She'd already done it.

I sprinted into the wood as fast as I could. Just like Gale and I used to. God I missed Gale. He chased his dreams, became a professional football player. The last time I'd seen him, he been gearing up for the big game. The IFAF World Championships. I was proud of him, so very proud. But at moments like that I just wanted him to hug me, or throw something for me to shoot.

I have no idea how long I sat in the woods. I closed my eyes and must have fallen asleep. The next thing I knew, I was in an unfamiliar bedroom, with a familiar boys smell. Finnick's boy smell. Since Gale left, I had made friends with the copper haired boy. The there's never been anything romantic going on between him and me, always just there for support.

"I came round to see how you were doing and when no one answered the door got scared." He had said in a small voice. "So I went round the back, climbed over your fence. I'm sorry Katniss, so very, very sorry." He said with tears pooling in his eyes. " I- I called the police. They're round you house now. I knew I had to find you before you did anything you would regret. I found you in the woods, asleep. You can't keep doing that Kat. Running away from people. You need help. We- we both need help." I liked it when Finn let me see the real him. The him that wasn't always messing around and flirting with girls. The him that had been messed up by an abusive step-father. The him that no one saw but me and Annie, Finnick's girlfriend.

Finn had got me help that I needed, and Gale had come home for a month to check on me and make sure that I was okay. The three of us had grown up together. But Finn and I had never really talked much until Gale left and we both missed him being there.

We would have nights where the three of us would sit happily on the sofa and reminisce about funny memories, silly things my dad had done, funny things my sister had said, my mum's old chocolate chip cookie recipe. But then we would have other nights where the three of us would just sit and cry, and hold each other. We would sob for hours until we got tiered and fell asleep on the sofa tangled up in each other.

Too soon Gale had to leave and I had to go back to school. I hated it. People saying, "I'm sorry for your loss," or, "My deepest condolences". Half the people had never spoken to me before. Didn't even know me, or my family.

When I graduated I couldn't wait to be gone from the Seam. I wanted to leave, and so did Finn. So we enrolled at the same University. We both made it in. I felt like a huge wait had been lifted off my chest. I was moving all the way to the other side of the country with my best friend Finn. I was ready to face the real wold again.

So now, here I am. A 19 year old girl, packed and ready to move to Stanford. I got a full scholarship and so did Finn.

I'm standing outside my shitty little flat, in the shitty little town called the Seam, waiting for Finn to pick me up so we can go to the airport together.

When I see his truck pull into the road I almost squeal with delight. "Ready to go Kat?" he beams at me, leaning over the centre console to open the door for me.

"Ready." I grin back at him

 **AN/ I know this chapter is kind short but it is only like, the epilogue, just to give you the background deets at to why Gale isn't in the story so much and why Katniss and Finnick are best friends. I know it gets really deep and gritty but thats only so you know whats going on :)**

 **Okay, so I know what some of you may be thinking. Yes, I did have another story and yes, I have now deleted said story. Just hear me out. I wasn't really feeling it. The story line was too confusing and at the moment I just have so many other thing on my mind I wanted to write something at that I'm comfortable writing about. I hope you guys understand and I might, possibly, continue writing the story after this one, I still have it saved on my computer ;) But for now, enjoy this Peeniss story I have thrown together for you.**

 **Peace**

 **K xx**


	2. Chapter 2

Once we get to the airport, Finnick has to find a parking space. I takes longer than we had wanted to, seeing as he is parking it up here until Christmas holidays, when he will fly back down and drive it all the way to Stanford.

"Don't worry, baby, I'll be back for you in a few months. Daddy won't leave you too long on your ow-" he stops abruptly as I tug on his arm.

"Come on Finnick, you do realise it can here you right?"

"Don't say that to her! Of cause she can here me." He says feigning a hurt tone.

~oOo~

Once booked in and we have boarded our plane, I start to get a little jumpy. Finn reached over and puts a hand on my knee to stop it bouncing. It's not much but it all the comfort I need. He looks over to me concerned. "What's up Kat? I thought you were excited about this? An adventure right?"

"Yeah- yeah. It's just- I haven't been away from home since it happened. I-I-I don't know, I'm being silly aren't I?" I lie. Finn knows I have never been on an aeroplane before. He also knows I have a huge fear of falling.

"No, not at all! Just sit back and relax. Think about the boys," he says wiggling his eyebrows at me. "And think about all the new friends you'll make. But best of all, think about having me as your flat mate for the next 4 years, along with 2 other complete strangers, but that's beside the point. It will be great Kat. We just have to get there first, and this," he say motioning to the plane were sat in, "is the fastest way."

When the engine starts up and we start to taxi our way through the other planes to get to our runway, a whole new level of nerves, anticipation and something else kicks in. I don't know what to do with myself.

"How long is the flight Finn?" I ask, trying to keep the shake out of my voice.

"About 4 hours, why?" he asks.

"I'm going to try to get some sleep before we land." I say. I know that if I don't go to sleep, I'm going to end up throwing up.

Sitting in this pressurised tin can I start to think about our new flat mates who were going to pick us up from the airport at Stanford. I know that one is a girl and the other is a boy, but what if they don't like me? I'm not particularly easy to get along with, and we're stuck with them for the next 4 years. That's what the contact says.

Whilst my mind is contemplating this, I must have fallen asleep because I find myself drifting into a nightmare.

~oOo~

 _I'm sitting in the Pickup truck next to my dad, laughing at something he said, though I can't remember what. We're in the middle of town and I'm wearing my old school uniform. I turn in the seat to check on Prim in the back. She's laughing too._

 _This feels so right, but I can't escape the nagging in the back of my head that's screaming that this is wrong. Somewhere deep down I know that I'm the only one still alive in this car._

 _Suddenly dad breaks. The seatbelt digs into my flesh and I yelp. "Sorry honey, the traffic light changed up ahead." My dad turns and says to me apologetically. I study his face. He has the same grey, almost silver, eyes as me, the same dark brown hair. We have the same easy going look to ourselves, though for some reason I feel like I don't smile often anymore. The thought makes me sad, I feel like I should be missing him, but I don't know why._

 _I hear the screeching of breaks; hear the impact before I feel it. Searing pain builds in my hip. Then it's gone. I lose all feeling in my entire body; I realise what is wrong. I was never at this moment in time._

 _I climb out of the car and look and the contorted faces of my dad, Prim, sitting where I just was, and Rue in the back. They look in so much pain and I can do nothing to save them. It's like there's a glass wall in between me and the car. I hear people yelling. "Call 911!" One lady calls. "Oh my fucking God!" a man across the street yells. But I know this is wrong._

 _I know I wasn't here, I'm not in the car anymore and I can't help! I should be able to do something. I run up to the car and run straight into the invisible wall. I bang on it and bang on it but there is nothing I can do to get through it. I ask a lady to help them, but she just looks right through me. I walk up to a man and go to touch his shoulder but he just walks through me._

 _I go back to the carnage that has now made its way around my family, lying dead in my dad's Pickup. I collapse onto the floor and everything goes black._

~oOo~

I wake up gasping for air. I try to struggle at the hands holing my face, the dull noise of a male's voice. "Kat! Katniss!" the man yells. "Kat, it's okay. Everything's okay. It was just a dream."

I open my eyes and immediately stop fighting. I sigh, it was only Finnick. "Oh my God. Please tell me I wasn't screaming again." He looks at the floor guiltily. I sight, defeated. "How much longer do we have on the flight?"

"We're just coming in to land. I was literally about to wake you when you started squirming in your seat. Then the crying. You were crying in your sleep Kat, again. Then you started to moan, and I don't mean the good kind. Getting louder and louder." He pauses and looks at me, like, _really_ looks at me. "Was it the same dream again? The one where you imagine you're there?" I nod.

The only reason Finnick knows about my dreams is because when dad and Prim died I spent most of my time in my room. Mum would only let two people up to see me, - Gale and Finn- and I'd only let them in, no one else. Sometimes one of the boys would end up staying the night in my room on the floor. They would be there for me if I had a screaming fit in the middle of the night. If I had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep afterwards we would sit up and watch a movie together.

I used to tell them about my dreams, I just found it easier knowing that someone knew what I was going through and wouldn't judge me for it. I would vent to the boys, tell them everything. It was like my therapy, the only thing from stopping me going completely insane.

Before he left, only Gale would stay in my room with me. Then, after he was gone, I slowly let Finn in, he started off sleeping on the floor, them my arm chair and then, when my mum died and the nightmares became really bad, he would stay in my bed with me. I liked it. I didn't have to look on the floor anymore to know that he was there; I could just roll over slightly and feel him.

~oOo~

We land and have to wait for almost an hour at baggage claim for our luggage to come around that funny roundabout thing.

We decide to grab a coffee to wake us up from the flight before we head out to meet the people who are going to be picking us up; after all, they're not meant to be here for another hour or so.

Once we're seated, Finn askes me "You wanna talk about your dream?"

"The same one I get every time I'm worried. Gods, why am I so messed up Finnick? Why me?" I plead with him.

He looks at me sympathetically, "You're one of the strongest people I know Kat. Everyone goes through rough times, and you just happen to be going through a particularly long bumpy one. It will all turn out perfectly in the end." He says pulling me into his arms.

We finish up our coffee and head out to the collections point. We look for the placard that says our names on them, it takes a while but I finally see it. A white piece of card with the words,

 _"Katniss Everdeen & Finnick O'Dair_

 _Stanford Collage"_

"Over there." I say, pointing to the man holding the card.

As we approach, I study the man and woman waiting for us. The girl is tall and stunningly gorgeous. She has dark brown hair that comes to her lower back and warm chocolate brown eyes. She has an hourglass figure and perfectly applied, subtle make up. She notices us before the man does. He is stocky, well built like a rugby player. Around 6ft3" with unruly blonde hair and the most stunning sapphire/baby blue eyes. As she nudges him to alert him that we are coming over, he smiles the most gorgeously perfectly white smile you can ever imagine. When he smiles his eyes sparkle all the different shades of blue possible.

When we arrive in front of them the girl offers her hand first, "Hey! I'm Joanna Mason, but most people just call me Jo." She says with a smile.

The boy holds his hand out and locks eyes with me. As soon as I look into them, I lost, marvelling in the colour. "Hi," he says shyly, his voice deep and melodic. "I'm Peeta, Peeta Mellark."


	3. Chapter 3

**Viola :)**

We all walk out of the airport in a comfortable silence. I'm mesmerised by how gorgeous and genuine this guy Peeta seems.

We find his truck; load our stuff in the back and all clime in. Peeta driving, me next to him, Jo squashed next to me and Finn at the end. "Sorry about the squeeze. It was this or Jo's little Fiesta." He says apologetically.

"Dude, its fine. I don't mind being this close to such a lovely lady." Finn says, wiggling his eyebrows at Joanna. Always trying to get into girls pants. For all he knows, these two could be an item and he's just chosen the wrong girl to flirt with. Luckily nothing happens.

The drive to the apartment only takes around 30 minutes. The complex is just outside the college campus.

"So how long have you two been living here?" I ask on the drive there.

"In this apartment? Only, like, 5 hours. In Stanford? All my life." Jo replies.

"This was my bachelor pad until I needed to go to college." Peeta explains. "Then I needed the money for tuition so I asked Jo to come and live with me as we were going up at the same time. She decided that she couldn't pay half the rent for this place, too expensive. And that's when I decided to advertise the vacant rooms. It's pretty big for just two people anyway."

"So, are you two an item?" Jo asks me.

"Finnick and I? No." I say bursting out laughing. "We're just close friends."

"Aw, Kat, I thought we had something special going on between us." Finn says, feigning hurt.

"Really Katniss, you should put a man down like that. It really hurts his mojo." Peeta says light heartedly. The two boys chuckle and fist bump across Jo and I.

"What about you two?" Finn asks.

"No, we're more like brother and sister." Peeta replies.

"We're always digging at each other, having little arguments. Very sibling-y." Jo adds.

We arrive at the apartment and decide to have a look around before we unpack. "Jo hasn't chosen her room yet. She wanted to wait for you guys to get here before she did so that you could choose first." Peeta says. "Mine's the one at the end of the hall on the left."

The apartment is huge; bigger than the description says one the internet. There is an upstairs and downstairs to it; I didn't even know that was possible in an apartment!

The downstairs has the kitchen, a huge space with white cupboards and black work surfaces, a giant oven, hob and a sink; the living room, a big cream room with two, three seater sofas lined up against the walls at a right angle and a 72" flat screen TV hanging off the wall; the dining room a pail green room housing a small-ish dining table with four chairs seated around it; and a small bathroom with just a toilet and sink in. Whoever decorated this house definitely knew what they were doing.

The stairs were lined with photos of people. Young pictures of Peeta with what I presume to be his family smiling at the camera, pictures of Peeta and Joanna with a few people I dint recognise all with drinks in their hands goofing off and smiling at a party. "Maybe one day you two will make it onto that wall." Peeta says behind me as a gawk at the beautiful pictures.

At the top of the stairs there is a long corridor with 5 doors coming off of it; four lining the left and right and one at the very end. I open the door closest to me on my left. It's a cosy room painted light green, with a double bed pushed up against the far wall, a stand-alone wardrobe next to it and a chest of drawers at the end of the bed. It's nice, just not the right room for me; not homey enough for my liking.

The room to the right of the corridor is very much the same, just with the furniture in slightly different places around the room, and instead of it being oak; it's been painted white to go with the pail baby blue walls.

I move to the end room on the right, the one on the left being Peeta's, and open the door. I instantly know that this is my room. It's painted a very light shade of green with a feature wall, where the headboard is pushed up to, of a green lush forest; it reminds me of hunting with my dad; happy memories. There is a walk in wardrobe; not very big, but it will be more than enough space, and a chest of draws at the end of the bed. The dormer window on the opposite side of the room to the door had a window seat. There is a desk as well. All the furnishings are mahogany.

"This room was the only other one that was already furnished and painted when I moved in, apart from my bed room. You can have it if you want it." Peeta says from behind me. Id almost forgotten he was there. I turn to look at him, his eyes shining. "My room is just apposite and at the end of the corridor is the bathroom, though I have my own so if you're fast, you can have first dibs in the mornings." His perfect lips turning up into a smirk; then a full out smile.

"I would love this room, thank you, Peeta." I say, returning the smile. He leaves to go and get my luggage and bring it into the room.

Finn walks in while I'm still smiling like a giddy school girl. "Wow Kat, this room is definitely yours." He says looking round the room. "I don't think I've seen you smile that genuinely since the last time Gale came to visit, and that was, what- a year ago now?"

I scowl at him.

"Aaaannndd there is goes." He says playfully, just causing my scowl to deepen.

"Hey Finnick, wouldn't mind giving me a hand with Katniss's stuff would you?" Peeta calls from down the hall. Finn leaves.

I move over and sit on the edge of the double bed; running my hand across the soft fabric of the new bed sheets.

The last time Gale had come to visit us we'd gone into the woods and spent the whole day shooting. When we got back, I told him that Finn and I were moving to Stanford. "I will come and see you as much as I can. I swear if any arsehole hurts you, Catnip, I will be straight there with my bow and a whole quiver of arrows to shoot right in between his eyes." Gale had said trying to be jokey, but I knew there was seriousness to his tone. He had been so happy for us. He told us that he wanted us to get out of the Seam and live our lives. I knew exactly what he meant.

There was nothing in the Seam for me once Prim died. She was my everything, and gods I loved her. She was 4 years younger than me, 14 when she got hit. She had the most gorgeous blue eyes that just lit up when she was happy; blond flowy hair that came down to her lower back. She was always smiling, and when she smiled at you, you couldn't help but smile back. She was the light at the end of the tunnel for me; I did everything I have ever done for her. So when she died it was like I was drowning; suffocating in the pitch blackness of the world.

"Are you alright Katniss?" Peeta's concerned voice snaps me out of my thoughts. It isn't until then that I realise I have been crying.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm- I'm fine. Just, ya know- missing home." I stammer. He's not convinced.

Peeta sets my bag at the end of the bed and comes to sit next to me. "You don't have to tell me what's up Katniss, because I realise we have only known each other for, like, two hours, but I can tell that you're really hurting. I'm always here if you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to hug." He says as he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

I sniffle. "Thanks Peeta. Maybe one day I'll tell you about it." I say, leaning my head on his shoulder. That's when Finn, being the mood killer he is, comes bustling into the room, struggling to carry my other bag.

"Bloody Hell, Kat. What in the name of God do you have in this thing!? Bricks?" he looks over to me and sees the position I'm in with Peeta, then looks at me face and sees that I'm crying. "Shit! Sorry. Are you okay Kat?" he says dropping the case, blocking the door, and running over to me. Kneeling down in front of me with one of his hands on my knee to keep it balanced. I pull me head off of Peeta's shoulder. He keeps his arm around my back.

"Yeah, just… missing home." I tell him. He immediately gets my drift.

"Hey, Peeta!" Jo calls from down stairs, saving Finn of having to awkwardly ask Peeta to leave, "There's some blonde chick at the door that wants to talk to you. She seems a bit old for your type, probably old enough to be your mother." She yells with a snicker.

"What's her name?" Peeta asks confused. There's muffed voices down stairs.

"Sara." Jo shouts up simply.

"Joanna Mason, that _is_ my mother!" he shouts down exsapserated.

"Oh.. Sorry Mrs Mellark." Jo says, loud enough to be heard upstairs.

"She gets loud when she's nervous." Peeta says with a smirk. "I should probably go and see what my mum wants. You sure you'll be okay with just Finnick up here?" he asks, concern lasing his voice.

"Yeah I'll be fine." I say.

He picks up my case from the doorway so that he can get past. Just as he's about to walk through the door I say: "Peeta."

He turns around. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for letting us stay here." I pause, trying to gather the right words to say. "And- for comforting me, even though you don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're more than welcome Katniss." He says, with a small smile on his face that shows off his dimple, and walks out the door.

"Wow, Kat. What was that?" Finnick asks with a smirk.

Am I blushing?

 **A/N Wow! A new chapter so soon? I know, I know; I'm good and you love me. But dont get your hopes up. The only reason I have posted this is because it was there telling me to post it and i felt bad leaving the last chapter on a slight cliff hanger. I will be updating every Friday from now on, whether I update this Friday or not, I don't know yet. This is kind of the chapter that was supposed to go up then... Oh well, you lovelies might just have to wait until NEXT Friday for the next chapter.**

 **But HEY, I have just made an instagram account, it's called the_fandoms_of_plenty. I'll be posting on there regularly, and sometime there may even be a short snippit of the next weeks chapter, so go follow me up on there!**

 **Until next time**

 **K x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here you go! :)**

I wake up a week after Peeta held me, still thinking about how it felt, how well I seemed to fit inside his arms as he hugged me and told me sweet nothings. I know I shouldn't be thinking about him that way, I mean, I've only known the man for a week; but I can't help but think that there is something going on, some kind of sadness, behind those happy blue eyes, and I want to find out what.

The week passed with us all getting to know each other. I found out that Peeta has two older brothers called Ethan and Rye and they live a few blocks away, that he doesn't talk to his mum a lot but is really close with his dad; I learned that Jo and I can have a really good laughing session, chatting about shit all and then suddenly go serious and have a really deep, good, girly chat; and I learned what Finnick sounds like when he's having sex, not the best first memory of this house I have to admit.

That's what I'm hearing right now- again. Manly grunts and high pitched squeals, coming from the slut he must have picked up last night. The head board of his bed banging against the far wall of my bedroom. It's disgusting. Every night and morning, some times more than that, I hear him. I think I'm going to have to confront him about it. It's getting out of hand, and he must be getting sore, not that I want to know.

A soft knocking on my door pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I ask, thinking who in their right mind, apart from Finnick and the slut, would be up this early in the morning. Then I turn my head and look at the clock, its 12:34pm. Gods, I must have woken up more times than I thought last night.

Peeta pokes his head around my door. "Mind if I join you? There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." he asks, a slightly nervous twinge in his voice.

"Not at all." I say. Sitting up in bed, pulling the covers up to my waist, suddenly more than aware I'm only wearing a small pair of cotton knickers under my sleep tee. "What's up?"

"Erm… Katniss… This… Umm…" He stammers trying to gather the right words and build up the courage to say them. "This might- this might be hard for you to talk about. A-and you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

I nod to signal him to carry on.

"It's just," he pauses and takes a deep breath. I've seen him do this frequently in the week that I've known him, and I've come to find it quite cute. "This week, considering your room is only across the hall from mine, I've heard you screaming in the middle of the night. The first night I thought you were hurt so came rushing in here, as I'm sure you remember," I do, he came running in here, woke me up and hugged me whilst I cried against his shoulder- again- and then he stayed with me until I fell asleep again. But he was done when morning came. "But it was only a dream. So when I heard you the next few nights I came in here and sat in that chair," he points to the little chair that's usually in the corner of my room but has been moved to the side of my bed. How did I not notice that? "And spoke to you while you slept. Eventually you would go back off to sleep peacefully and I would go back into my room. But last night was different. Every time you went off into a peaceful sleep, I would sit by you for about two minutes and then you would start thrashing again. It started at about two in the morning and you didn't stop until six-ish. I'm worried about you Katniss. Having nightmares like that isn't healthy for someone of our age- Hell it isn't healthy for anyone." He says, his blue eyes deep with worry, pushing a hand through his ruffled blonde bed head. "Please let me in, talk to me Kat and let me make it okay."

I'm startled, not only because it's the first time he has ever called me Kat, but because I didn't know he cared like that. I mean, I knew that he knew I had nightmares, but I didn't know he went to the extent of sitting by me and talking whilst I thrashed around on my bed. For most people having someone tell them that may seem creepy, but for me, with Peeta, it feels like it's right somehow.

I look at him, deciding whether or not to tell him, and if so, how much. I decide that I trust him enough to tell him what happened. I don't know why, but I see it in his eyes that he means whet he says; he want to try and make things better for me.

"Peeta… my sister and dad died a few years back, when I was 18; my sister, Prim, only 14. They were T boned in their car and were all pronounced dead at the scene." I can't look into his eyes. I don't want to see the look of pity that he must be giving me. "After losing them, my mum lost it. She went hay wire; mad. And I became depressed. Really, really badly. I wouldn't leave my room for days on end, only coming out when I was about to pass out from dehydration or lack of food. One day I came out of my room… and… and," I feel tears pricking my eyes. I don't want to continue with the story but I trust Peeta. I don't know why, I just do. "And I-I-I found her outside, s-s-swinging from the tree in our b-back garden. She'd left a note s-saying how sorry she was that she h-h-had been such a b-bad mother and that she w-wished she c-c-could m-make it up to m-me somehow. B-but she'd already left me Peeta; she was already gone." I'm full on sobbing by the time I get to the end. I hate crying. Especially in front of people, it makes me seem so weak; but crying in front of Peeta seems almost okay.

For the first time I look up to his eyes, tears still streaming down my face at a fast pace. I don't see the pity I was sure would be there. Instead I see hurt, like he's hurting for me; with me. "I have nightmares that I could have saved my mother, if only I had come out of my room an hour or two earlier, I could have saved her." Peeta moves closer to me on the bed and wraps his arm around me. I lay my head on his shoulder, sobbing there. "I dream that I was in the car with my father and sister and I could have saved them. I could have told them that there was a fucking grate truck going through a red light. I could have saved them. I could have saved them all. I could have saved them." I repeat; over and over again.

Peeta just holds me, saying nothing, until the tears stop falling from my eyes. He doesn't say that he's sorry; he doesn't give me his condolences. I'm grateful for that.

My eyes must be red and puffy as I pull away from him. "I'm sorry that you've been through so much Katniss. No one should have to go through losing their entire family in a matter of months. No one should have to go through that; period." Although he says that he's sorry, he doesn't say it for the loss of my family. He says he's sorry I had to go through that. So am I.

~oOo~

As I make my way downstairs I notice Finn's bedroom door is open. He must be done with the slut and made his way down to make some food.

My eyes are still puffy, red and stinging when I reach the kitchen. Sure enough Finnick is sitting beside the stove on the counter while Peeta cooks eggs and bacon in a frying pan. The boys are talking in hushed tones.

I cough to get their attention. Their heads snap round to me, both boys startled.

"Nice fucking session Finnick?" I ask, annoyance finding its way into my tone.

"Why, yes Kitty Kat, thank you for asking." He says, using the childhood nickname to try and soften me up a little. Not going to work this time, O'Dair.

"Next time, do you think you could keep the fuck down? I don't need to hear that when I'm trying to sleep. You know how hard it is for me to try and get a decent night sleep, Finnick." All anger lost from my tone, pure weariness having replaced it.

"Sorry Kitty. I didn't realise. You haven't told me about any bad nightmares. I thought everything was going okay until Peeta came down this morning; you having told him everything. I'm proud of you Kat; for opening up to Peeta. That takes guts, girl." He says hopping down off the counter and wrapping me in a big bear hug.

If this is what it's going to be like living with these two fools and Jo, I don't think it will be so bad. I like having them worry about me. It's nice having 3 people I can talk to instead of just Finn. I can talk to Jo about the girly, crush-y stuff; Peeta about the deep stuff when I want someone to take it seriously and give me a serious answer every time round; and Finn when I want to be cheered up and have a laugh about something that's been bugging me.

It almost feels like I have a family again.

 **A/N Oh hey there! So know its Monday, and I said I would be updating every Friday, buuuuuut I go on holiday to Italy with my family tomorrow night at 1:00am so I will be getting up really early. I go tomorrow and don't get back until next Wednesday, this means that I will be away for this Friday. so I have decided you would rather have this weeks chapter sooner rather than later. also, don't worry if you don't get your chapter next week on time either, I might not have finished writing by the time Friday comes around, so just bare with me.**

 **But hey! Last chapter I mentioned about my Instagram account, some of you guys have come to me asking if I have any other social media and I do have! I have Twitter (** ** _thefandomsofplenty_** **), Tumblr (** ** _the-fandoms-of-plenty_** **), and of course Instagram (** ** _the_fandoms_of_plenty_** **) so you guys can hit me up on any one of those if you want to chat. Sometimes I post snippets of the next weeks chapter, so go follow me on them. :)**

 **Thank you to** ** _Britter4eva_** **for all of your reviews. I really appreciate all of you reviews and would love to hear from the rest of you guys how I'm doing, so please do R &R.**

 **Until next time**

 **K x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Tadah**

"What are you gonna get?" Finn asks me from across the table. We decided we were going to go out for breakfast as Finnick managed to burn three lots of pancake batter and melt one of the plastic mixing bowls Peeta keeps under sink for if one of his cousins comes round. As Jo is at work it's just the two boys and I, this could very possibly get awkward.

"Our usual, you know what to get." I say to him.

"What about you Peet?"

"Umm, I don't know what to get. I'll just have whatever you two are having." He replies.

"How do you know that what we're having won't be dirt? You know Katniss likes it dirty." Finnick says with a wink in Peeta's direction, I aim a punch at his arm but he turns just in time for me to hit his chest.

"Ouch! You're mean when you horny." Finnick complains which causes both boys to burst out laughing and me to turn beetroot red.

"Not funny, arsehole." I say glaring at the two of them.

Our food comes out and the meal carries on much like that; two of us picking on the other getting a laugh out of it. Though, I can tell that there is some tension between the guys. I can tell Finnick wants to say something to Peeta because he keeps on pushing his food around his plate; laughing just that little bit too short for it to be genuine. So I decide to 'go to the toilet' so he can get whatever it is off his chest.

"I've gotta go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." I get up from the booth, not looking back at either of them. Luckily, the booth we're sat at has a wall right behind it, so I decide to hide out there so that I can listen to the boys.

"You okay, Finnick? You seem a bit tense, dude." I hear Peeta say, always the caring one.

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you. You know, about Katniss telling you all that stuff." Finnick says, lowering his voice. "She must really trust you to tell you all that, you know, I just want you to know that. So- man I hate giving this talk- if you fuck up; tell someone else; let slip about her past; brag to someone that she's told you about herself, you know, shit like that, I will have to kill you." I can tell Finn is nervous, he's gotta stop saying 'you know'; it's really giving his game away. "She hardly ever tells anyone about herself, I mean she didn't have to tell me, I was there for it all, but I mean, we weren't close back then. She's only known you for, what?- a little over a week? Dude, she must really like you, you know. Don't harm her trust in you, or she'll never trust you with _anything_ again, believe me, I know. Look after her- dude she's like an extension of me, I know every little thing that has gone on in her life. If you want to get romantically involved with her, be patient with her; let her come to you in her own time. If she thinks you're worth it, it will take her a while to open up to you fully. Don't push her whatever you do." I love how understanding Finn is; the way he knows exactly what to say; the way he is so protective of me.

Peeta has been silent through the whole thing, just listening to Finnick blabber lovingly about me. Finally, he speaks up. "I would never, ever, do anything to willingly hurt Katniss. Never. And I would never push her into anything that she didn't want to do. I know that we've only known each other for a very short amount of time, but I just feel like there is something there; some kind of spark that I've never felt before. I really appreciate your concern for her, Finn, and it's nice to know that she trust me by telling me that."

I sneak a peek around the side of the wall and see Peeta smiling down at his empty plate shyly. Finnick spots me and puts a finger up to his lips; ' _sshhh'_. He thinks I've only just got back; only been standing here for a few seconds.

"Just between me and you, dude," Peeta continues, "I do like her, a lot. But I understand we've only known each other for a little over a week, but I'd like her to get to know me better before we try to go anywhere with it. Hell, I don't even know if she likes _me_." He says with a little chuckle.

Do I like him like that? What a stupid question, you know you do, idiot!

"I respect you for giving me 'the talk', dude, but really, there's no need for it. At least now I know you will kill me, or any other dude, if I put a foot wrong." Peeta says with a nervous chuckle.

The boys sit like that, in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until I decide they have definitely finished their conversation. I stroll out of the toilets, trying to act casual, but I'm not too sure it works very well.

"What took you so long?" Peeta asks.

"Oh you know. When mother nature call unexpectedly-" I start.

"Oh, OHH. Okay I get it, we get it. Thanks Kat. TMI"

"The Mortal Instruments?" I ask with a smirk.

"The moral- what?" Peeta asks.

"Oh God; here we go again." Finnick says, he's had to sit through this talk a few times.

"Well, young Grasshopper, you have much to learn." I say, mock bowing to Peeta.

"Teach me your ways, Sensei." Peeta says, bowing back at me.

"Okayyyy. I'm going to leave to two to have your little- whatever this is. But you know; I'm strangely turned on by this." Finnick says.

"Leave!" We both practically yell in unison.

 **A/N So, there you go. I know this chapter was long awaited by quite a few of you, and honestly I'm sorry it took me so long. We got back from holiday on Wednesday and then my pet fell very ill, so I my family pet, and I've really not been in the mood to write lately. So I'm sorry that this chapter is short and probably not that good.**

 **As always, I love to read your reviews. If you have any feed back stick it in a review or message me, I love chatting with you guys!**

 **Until next time**

 **K x**


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